The WWE hall of Famer Animal is Ricky Steamboat's dad will appear o this chapter.
The next morning Marucho woke up to see Frederick on a stool next to him, reading his book. She looked to her side at him and smiled. "This is a really good book. No wonder you both liked it so much. She flipped the last page and closed the book, setting it back on the floor.
"Why are you here?" Marucho asked.
Frederick stood up and adjusted her dress, "just wanted to tell you that I'm going to head out for a bit. I got bored of waiting for you to wake up and decided to read the book."
"Where are you going?" Marucho asked, sitting up.
"Just to visit an old friend." Frederick replied. Marucho nodded and she was out of the room. Why didn't she just wake him up?
Frederick walked down the street with a bag strapped over her shoulder and the gift in her hand. She had asked about it while at the doctors. Marucho was zoning out in the corner while her and Animal talked to each other.
"Is there any way that I could keep one of those diamonds?" Frederick asked.
"Well, of course. But they do seem rather big, are you sure you wouldn't rather trade it in?" Animal asked.
"No, I'm sure that I would like to have one. One day he's going to leave, and money isn't going to bring me much nostalgia." Frederick replied.
"I'll see what I can do then."
Then, Animal called Marucho into his room. After the process was done, Animal said that they had found a smaller diamond implanted in his forehead.
It was way smaller than the rest, but not too small about three times the size of one on a diamond ring. She felt like she could break it with only her index and thumb if she wanted. But Animal assured her that she could not.
The diamond was enclosed in her fist as she walked the road down to her destination. She had a ride waiting for her at the edge of the market. She opened the passenger door and hopped in.
"It's been a while since I've seen you, Sora Perse." Frederick said.
"It has hasn't it? Have you finally found yourself a man?" Sora Perse asked.
Frederick rolled her eyes, "I'm fine on my own. A man would just bring me down." Frederick said.
Sora Perse laughed, "you haven't changed a bit." The drive was filled with chatter as the two old friends talked about how their life was, how many changes there have been, if any, and what happened recently.
"That boy was sent to the prison. When he came in, he didn't seem as bad as the stories would say." Sora Perse said.
"Yeah, he was painted in a really bad light." Frederick said.
"Did you ever meet him, talk to him?" Sora Perse asked.
"Not much, I couldn't make clear judgement on him from our short conversation." Frederick said.
"Well, you'll have enough time today then. But just remember, no matter what he says or what you think; he's not getting out of there." Sora Perse said. Frederick nodded.
"I understand. He's in there for a reason, and we can't risk letting him out." Frederick replied.
"I wish I had been there that day. Maybe we wouldn't be questioning his innocence now." Sora Perse said.
The vehicle stopped and they both opened their doors. Everything felt all the more real as she saw the prison in front of her. It was small but that's what scared her. It looked so comfy on the outside, but the inside was a nightmare. Sora Perse guided her inside.
At the reception desk was Sora Perse's friend. "Hello Arua!" Frederick said.
"Hello Frederick. Are you here to visit the prisoner?" Arua asked. Straight to the point.
"Yes I am." Frederick replied.
"Okay I'm going to request that you leave all of your stuff in a locker in the room over there." Arua said as he pointed behind her. Frederick nodded and went to the room.
She closed the door behind her and went to the nearest locker, that way she couldn't be seen by the window along the wall that faced Arua and Sora Perse. She put her bag in the locker, taking out the letter beforehand. She put the note in her pocket and looked at the diamond in her hand. If it was in her pocket, they would surely find it. She had only gotten permission to bring in the letter. Something that was considered to be magical would never be allowed while visiting.
She wanted to give it to him, she couldn't just leave it in the locker. She put the diamond in her mouth. It sat in the far corner, in between her teeth and cheek. That way, she would still be able to communicate properly. They wouldn't notice.
She walked out and saw Sora Perse waiting for her with a hand-held metal detector. She walked in front of him and put her arms in a "T" position. He scanned her all around. When the detector got close to her face, it started to go off. She was confused. The scanners can't detect diamond, right?
"Frederick, you're going to have to leave your necklace in a locker. It can be a choking hazard." Sora Perse said. Frederick internally sighed.
"I'm sorry, I forgot." She put her necklace away and was checked again.
"Okay Arua, you remember the procedure? This will be your first job. We need to make sure it's safe for others to come in." Sora Perse said.
"Yes, I have the procedure memorized." Arua said.
"Good." Sora Perse looked to Frederick. "Sorry to have to use you as a test subject. I didn't know anyone else I could trust." Frederick smiled.
"It's completely fine. I trust you and your little apprentice." Arua smiled.
"I'll be watching everything through the cameras. For the privacy of the minor, the camera is turned off in the cell. But if he has any visitors, the camera will be turned on for their safety. We can't have the deal be broken by some careless people. You know all of the risks now. Yell when you are ready to be let out." Sora Perse said.
Frederick nodded and followed Arua out the door. He turned back to being serious. Frederick followed all of his orders as he opened many different doors and switched many levers. She was amazed by the amount of things the kid had been able to memorize. She couldn't imagine having to go through all the trouble.
A lot of work was put into keeping Allie in his cell. It seemed like a waste of effort. When she made it to the cell, a metal door with a slot on the bottom greeted her.
"I won't be able to hear any normal speech. You have to be loud to be heard through here." Arua said. Frederick nodded, not really sure if Arua should be telling her this.
"Okay, you are free to go in now." Arua said as he opened the door for her. Allie's head went up at the sound of the door opening. He didn't know who he was expecting to see, but the fact that it wasn't them, made his heart drop.
"Hey Allie." Frederick said.
"You're Marucho's mom, right?" Allie asked. Frederick walked in and the door was closed behind her.
"Yes, I am. My name's Frederick." Frederick said.
"Hi Frederick. I guess you already know my name." Allie laughed as he played with his fingers. Frederick turned around towards The door and pulled the diamond out of her mouth. It was probably a really gross way to give someone a gift. She dried it off on her dress and put it in her pocket with the letter. She hoped the camera wasn't able to see that. She turned back around and sat on her knees on the ground in front of him.
"Marucho wrote you another letter. I didn't want you to wait another day for the post man to bring it to you." She pulled the letter out with the diamond underneath it.
"Don't tell them about the diamond. Don't make any expressions to it. Pretend I just gave you a regular letter." Frederick said under her breath. She smiled and placed both of the items in his hands. He smiled and carefully slid the diamond in his shirt sleeve.
"Thank you! I'll make sure to read and respond to it as quickly as I can. He got up and went to his desk. He let the diamond slide back out onto the table, using the letter to cover it so that the camera couldn't see it. Once the letter was set down he went back to his spot.
"Was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?" Allie asked.
"Did they tell you how long you were going to be in here?" Frederick asked.
"They told me I was going to be in here for forever. But that's not that long." Allie said, smiling as if what he said made sense. Frederick ignored it and just continued talking.
"I just wanted to thank you again for being there for Marucho. He told me everything." Frederick said.
"Oh, you're welcome!" Allie said with a smile. Frederick stood up and dusted off her dress.
"It was delightful seeing you. I hope that others will also be able to visit you soon." Frederick said.
"I hope I get to see Marucho again!" Allie replied.
"I'm sure you will." Frederick said.
"I'm ready to get out!" Frederick yelled. She was let out and Arua led her back the way she came. It was much faster getting out then coming in. she didn't even notice she went downstairs until she went up a flight of stairs to get out. She wondered why it was harder to get in that get out. It seemed counterproductive.
After she gathered her belongings and was out, Sora Perse led her back to the car. They drove back to the market where she said her farewell. Then she walked back to her house. She hadn't noticed how much time it actually took. The sun was already down. She didn't know whether her time was wasted on the car drive, or getting to and from the cell. It didn't matter.
She hoped that the test was a success. She wanted Marucho to see Allie. Maybe then she could witness exactly whether or not their friendship really was friendly. Or if it was just a lie. The trade wouldn't be quite fair if the only interaction he got was through pen and paper. She got inside the house and smelt something burning.
She quickly kicked her shoes off and went to the kitchen. Marucho was standing in front of a pan with eggs on it. He flipped the egg repeatedly, checking to see how cooked it was frequently. She looked beside him and saw a plate of already burnt eggs.
"You don't have to flip them so much. The more you move them, the smaller the portion." Frederick said. Marucho flinched and then calmed when he saw it was her.
"I don't want to burn it again." Marucho replied. Frederick sighed and grabbed a fork. She picked a piece of the burnt egg and ate it. It wasn't the best, but she was used to it. Her mom had no idea how to cook, burnt food was the regular.
She smiled, "this doesn't even taste Allie." Marucho quirked an eyebrow.
"Look, I'll eat this and you can eat that. Sound good?" Frederick asked.
"If you want to." Marucho replied. Frederick took the plate to the table and waited for Marucho to join her. He took his food and ate it at the counter. He still didn't trust her completely. They ate in silence and then Marucho was back to his room. Frederick sighed and put her dish away.
She had really ruined their relationship. She didn't know exactly how she would be able to fix it. Especially since she didn't completely trust Allie yet. She didn't even completely trust Marucho. Anything could have happened in that week he was gone. She wasn't even sure if he was the Aruae Marucho.
Maybe he wasn't as enthusiastic because he could properly communicate with her. If only Marucho would have told her. All of this would have been avoided. Funny how such a small decision could change the outcome of his entire future. All of their futures.
Allie sat at his table with a pen in his hand. He was in the middle of writing a letter back to Marucho. He tapped the end of the pen on his chin as he thought about what he was going to say next. He looked to the diamond beside the paper.
'Frederick came in today. She's the one that gave me the letter.'
He remembered that he wasn't supposed to talk about the diamond. He picked it up and inspected it in his palm. It was smaller than the rest of the diamonds that he saw on him. Was it really Marucho's?
He felt as the diamond vibrated in his hand. It wasn't too noticeable, Allie thought he was imagining it at first. Then it poked him. He dropped it on the table and curled his wings around himself. He watched as the shaking got more violent.
Then it flew at him. He ducked his head, but that wasn't what it was aiming for. It hit the bandaging over the hole in his wing and fell to the floor. Allie looked and saw that it was still shaking. It tried again to hit the wound but bounced off.
Allie didn't know how or why it was aiming for that spot in particular, but it was trying it's hardest. It hit it three more times before it was motionless in the ground again. Allie carefully picked it back up and put it back on the table. He waited a few more minutes to see if it would move again. But it stayed still. Allie put down his wings again.
Why did Frederick give him the diamond? She couldn't have possibly known that it was going to start attacking him, right? Allie's eyes flashed open.
What if it wasn't attacking him? He brought his injured wing back in front of him and carefully peeled off the bandage. He placed it on the table and looked at the shard. It didn't move. Allie breathed in and out to calm himself. He bit the top of his shirt and held the shard to his injury. It was like a magnet as the diamond was sucked into the open wound.
His yelp was muffled by his shirt as it settled it's way in. He gripped onto his knee tightly as tears formed in his eyes. And soon, the pain was gone again. He looked at the wound and saw that it was no longer there. The hole had been filled, somehow. Allie was in awe at the sight.
Did they know that the diamonds could do that? Allie put the bandage back onto the filled wound. He didn't want the guards to find out about it. The knowledge of this being possible would only dig a deeper hole for Marucho. Allie smiled and continued writing the letter.
He would tell Marucho all about it when he visited.